Sedona Red Recap: Starting pitching stars again for the Arizona Diamondbacks

The run continues, one that he began.

Right-hander Chase Anderson, whom his manager called “our stopper” prior to Wednesday game, made it five quality starts in the last six games for the Arizona Diamondbacks’ starting rotation.

Anderson (3-1) tossed six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits with one walk and two strikeouts. His effort returned the D-backs to the win column with a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Angels in front of an announced crowed of 28,481 at Chase Field.

Paul Goldschmidt and Welington Castillo homered, while Yasmany Tomas went 3-for-4 with an RBI triple to help stake the D-backs to a 3-0 lead after just four innings.

Anderson, who took a no-hitter into the seventh inning his last time out, went 3.1 innings before allowing a hit. The Angels scratched runs across the plate in both the fifth and sixth innings, but solid defense — specifically from Goldschmidt and Nick Ahmed — helped minimize the damage.

Facing the D-backs for the first time, Angels starter Hector Santiago settled down after the Castillo home run in the fourth, retiring six of the last eight batters he faced, including four strikeouts. He finished with a season-high nine in his five innings of work in which he scattered seven hits and walked two.

Brad Ziegler pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save of the season.

The D-backs, starting a five-game home stand, are once again within a game of .500 at 32-33 after winning for the fifth time in their last six games.

THE GOOD

The first out tied the mark, while the second out established a new one. Anderson surpassed his previous career-high of 11.0 straight scoreless innings — set from May 9-15 — by retiring Angels right fielder Kole Calhoun on a line drive to second base in the first inning. Anderson ran his scoreless streak to 14.2 innings before Matt Joyce scored on Chris Iannetta’s double play in the fifth.

With his first-inning solo home run, Goldschmidt reached base safely for a 27th straight game, extending the longest active streak in the Majors. It was his 19th homer of the season and it came on a 2-1 pitch thrown right down the middle, which was then deposited into the seats in right field to give the D-backs an early 1-0 lead. Goldschmidt went 2-for-4, increasing his season average to .363.

Chalk up another first for Tomas. He recorded his first career triple, lacing an 0-1 offering the other way. The hit, his second in as many at-bats, scored David Peralta to make it 2-0 D-backs in the third inning. Tomas had a three-hit effort and has now hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games (.375, 18-for-48).

For the second time since being acquired from Seattle as part of the Mark Trumbo trade, Castillo went deep. He homered to lead-off the fourth inning, extending the D-backs’ lead to 3-0. It was an 0-1 pitch that Castillo sent into the left field seats for his fourth home run overall this season. He finished the game 2-for-4.

Disaster was averted in the seventh inning. A lead-off single followed by a double put the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position for the Angels. The bullpen closed the door, however, with David Hernandez, Oliver Perez and Daniel Hudson each recording an out, the last of which was a ground out by Mike Trout to end the threat.

THE BAD

Though the D-backs led 2-0 after three innings, it’s what the score might have been with a couple of more timely hits — two-out hits to be specific. Chris Owings struck out twice and A.J. Pollock once, each time stranding a runner in scoring position. Owings left two men on when he went down swinging in the first. In total, the D-backs left eight men on base and went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

In the first five innings, D-backs hitters struck out nine times, a brand new season-high for Santiago, who at one point retired four straight — including all three batters in the fifth — via the strikeout. He finished with nine strikeouts, one off his career high set Oct. 1, 2012 at Cleveland. Overall, the D-backs struck out 12 times, the sixth time this month they’ve hit double figures in strikeouts.

Missed sign, yes; missed opportunity, absolutely. Standing on third with one out in the sixth inning, Owings inexplicably broke for home on a pitch to pinch-hitter Cliff Pennington, who never took his bat off his shoulder. Owings attempted to retreat back to the bag but had strayed too far. He ended up getting caught in a rundown and retired 2-5-2 for out number two. Pennington then grounded out to end the inning.

STAT OF THE GAME

1.36: The ERA of D-backs starters over the last six games

HE SAID IT

“You see one guy go out there and throw seven shutout innings, you kind of want to go do the same thing,” Anderson said. “The guys are just feeding off each other, and I think it’s really good for our team. As a starting staff, you take pride in that. You want to go six-plus innings, that should be the bench mark, I think, for every starting pitcher. It’s good to have that, that healthy competition.”

NOTED

Goldschmidt’s 27 straight games reaching base safely is tied for the 10th-longest streak in club history with Luis Gonzalez (June 11-July 9, 2004).

Anderson struck out Trout twice on changeups, 82 mph in the first and 79 mph in the fourth.

Anderson’s second-inning sacrifice bunt was his team-leading seventh of the season.

Ziegler made his 499th career appearance with a scoreless ninth inning.

Aaron Hill extended his overall errorless streak to 27 games.

UP NEXT

The four-game interleague series with the Angels concludes with right-hander Allen Webster scheduled to make his home debut.

The 25-year-old starts opposite veteran C.J. Wilson on Thursday, June 18. First pitch is scheduled for 12:40 p.m. with pregame coverage beginning 30 minutes earlier on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.

Webster (1-0) earned the win in his first D-backs appearance, allowing two runs in 5.2 innings on June 13 at San Francisco only hours after he had been recalled from Triple-A Reno. He held the Giants hitless through the first 5.1 innings.

Acquired from Boston as part of the Wade Miley trade, Webster is 1-0 lifetime against the Angels.

Meanwhile, Wilson (4-5) will look to make it back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

In his last start, he beat the Oakland A’s with seven shutout innings, giving up only two hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.

Twice Wilson has pitched against the D-backs, both times coming in relief in which he totaled 2.1 scoreless innings and a save back in 2009.